The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1887-01-04
AND SUCH Is FAmEI
Senator Bowen Exhibits His Qualifi-
cations for Congress.

4 Washington paper of late date con-
tains the following gossip: Senator
Bowen, of Colorado, has come to be
acknowledged as the most
expert poker player in Washington. He
never engages in the dlsTeputabie games
which are attributed to some members
of Congress, nor has he ever been known
to play, while here, for money beyond
the little antes which are necessary TO
give zest to a game. He plays simply
for amusement and to display Gefore his
legislative colleagues the wonderful skill
he has attained. The fact is, that he
has made study Of poker just as some
men find recreation IN the study OF
botany or geology. During the winter
evenings he usually has a few dozen
companions in his rooms who find
more pleasure in quiet game of poker
than a visit to the theatre or society
gathering, No one ever leaves the
Senator's rooms anything out of pocket.
He wins on nearly every deal during
the evening, but he always takes care
to lose again what he has gained before
the game is over. All the stories
about his winning immense amounts
at poker are false. On the
contrary, every game has cost him
considerable in the way OF cigars and
wines for his guest Mr.. BoWen's lace
we'll fits him for eninence in the noble
science of poker. 1t is clear cut, hard
featured, immobile face, which, can, at
the volition of its owner, become as eX-
pressionless as the face Of cigar store
Indian. He has perfect mastery over
his features. He can listen to the
merriest joke without relaxing muscle,
and can preserve the perfect lmmobllity
of his features in the highest Jacs-pots,
even though he hold but an ace high. He
does not, like some poker p ayers. try to
deceive his adversaries by SMILING When
he has poor hand and looking .gTum
when he has a good one. This he re-
CARDS as all child's play. DE believes
in allowing his opponents to extract no
information, deceptive or otherwise,
from his face, and maintains the cigar
store-Indian, expression from beginning
to the end of the game. 1t is supposed
that he is a tremendous buffer, al
though he regulates his bluffing so ad-
roitly that he has seldom been called
without at least a good pair to show up.
Almost every third hand he stands
pat" A looker-on would swear that
these pats" were bluffs, but some,
how or other, when anyone tries to
catch him at it, he generally shows up q
full hand, straight or q flush. He
has wonderful talent for keeping the
run of the cards. IN several occasions
he has been known to draw out of 6
good jack. pot with a straight or three
of kind, and he has been known tc
stay in with single pair. Be it said
however, that when he goes out witt
| the straight, some other fellow is pretty
sure to have flush, and that when ht
stays in with q pair they are good
While the betting is going on, h'
seems to take more account of th'
faces of his opponents than of hi
cards. When he gets into a goot
Jackpot he lays down his cards, eye
the other man and does notrelax hi
scrutiny even while picking up chips
His dealing is thing of beauty to al
admirers of poker. He can twist snt
Jerk cards around in almost as man'
styles as Hermann, and does it with
loving tenderness for the paste-board
which is very nearly pathetic. Whel
be rises from the game, he discards tn
petrified expression and becomes one o
the most jovial-looking men in Wash
ington, as he hands around the cigar
and glasses. In justice to the Senator
it must be said that notWithstandln
his wonderful proficiency in the nobl
scienceShe is modest, and has neye
, been heard to boast.